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thesilversound wrote:

aubrey048 wrote:Thanks for your sympathy, chia!

What I meant is that some kids studied more extensively than me (obviously) and because of this they medaled. It was tough, though. The winning team from last year only placed fourth this time. *Quick mental calculation* Hey, that would mean that I would have medaled last year! Last year (in our region), they deemed 4th place medal-worthy.

I basically used what I knew to try to answer the questions, and the process of elimination. Next year I will be SO READY!

How long have you been doing Anatomy? For invitationals, there was a lot more stuff on the test that wasn't in the rules, and we got seventh as well... but at regionals, the test had a lot more emphasis on endocrine, and I think that's what separated us from the rest, because we were able to answer all the endocrine questions pretty well, and we ended up getting first. But you're right, it's the same for other events as well. Often times, the test writer will put things on the test that you didn't know you had to study >.< Sometimes, it can be an advantage, because with harder tests, it's easier to separate the people who have a solid background and the people who haven't studied as much. I'm pretty sure you probably studied well, and seventh isn't bad. At least you know now and you're prepared for next year! Good luck!

at my science olympiad, they give medals even if you place last. the thing is my event supervisor only lets us keep 1st-3rd place medals.

The training stuff only includes three muscular diseases. Are these really the only three they want us to know, at least for State? If not, what other diseases do y'all recommend I learn?

At regionals the test largely overlooked the endocrine system. It asked about three questions on it (out of about 60). One of them was about exocrine vs endocrine glands, the other was a hormone hypersecretion question, and the other was about the function of a certain hormone.

Most of the test was respiratory for us, with muscular coming in second. (Muscular was mostly muscle contraction questions)

@thesilversound: This was my first year doing Anatomy, my second year in S.O. But I studied a LOT for this event, and I knew the material really really really well.The amount of studying I did allowed me to quickly gain a lot experience in Anatomy. I studied about an hour and a half every morning, another hour and a half at least during the day, and about 3 and a half at night. (Explanation: I'm homeschooled)
If the test had been on the material in the rules, I would have surely medaled. (With that much studying, along with an extensive "cheat sheet", it would be hard not to do well!) Trust me, I may be fairly new to S.O, but am no newbie in regards to science, and can handle myself well at a science competition.

Ah well. I am just going to have to cover more material if I want to do well next year. That's all you can do in my situation.


@gigaboo: The diseases that we are to study for each system are as follows:

Muscular: Polio, Muscular Dystrophy, Myasthenia Gravis, Tetanus, Myosistis.

Endocrine: Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, Goiter, Graves Disease.

Respiratory: COPD, Asthma, Emphysema, Pneumonia, Sleep Apnea.

Hope this helps. But as I said earlier, it would probably be wise to study beyond this. I suggest that you look into other common diseases of these systems .

At state, the proctor was a pediatric cardiologist, so it was very clinical/application-oriented, both of which I'm pretty bad at. (I really, really like the memorization part, which is why I do well at invites and regions - if I can do it.) So, it was a hard test. 6th overall, which somewhat disappointed me, because I did try to hit on the application part in my cheat sheet by adding scans of chests (last year there were a lot of questions about x-rays of skeletal parts).

Meh.

For nationals...how detailed is it? I understand that you have to go beyond the scope of the study sheets but....in all seriousness, what is it like?

Sorry, it's my school's first time participating in SO and we're going to Nationals too...so I don't know what to expect!
Thanks!

808girl wrote:For nationals...how detailed is it? I understand that you have to go beyond the scope of the study sheets but....in all seriousness, what is it like?

Sorry, it's my school's first time participating in SO and we're going to Nationals too...so I don't know what to expect!
Thanks!

the rules should have stuff that is for nationals level only
basically its not that hard than states (well that depends what state ur in, since i'm from PA and PA states is quite competitive)
u shud deff make a new cheat sheet with extra info plus the national level info
everything is more detailed but it's not impossible or insanely long
the 2 times i've been to nats its been stations so i suggest u practice on the time constraint part
but they will test u on national level info so study on that, esp the neuromuscular junction...

Hmm... well you have to remember that most people don't study too much other than what's on the rules. If it was hard for you, it was probably hard for others too. And sometimes, it's just the littlest mistake that can cost you. I'm sure you'll be able to medal next year though. From what you said, you did study a lot... I'm pretty sure you'll have no problem next time with placing:)

doctor wrote:

808girl wrote:For nationals...how detailed is it? I understand that you have to go beyond the scope of the study sheets but....in all seriousness, what is it like?

Sorry, it's my school's first time participating in SO and we're going to Nationals too...so I don't know what to expect!
Thanks!

the rules should have stuff that is for nationals level only
basically its not that hard than states (well that depends what state ur in, since i'm from PA and PA states is quite competitive)
u shud deff make a new cheat sheet with extra info plus the national level info
everything is more detailed but it's not impossible or insanely long
the 2 times i've been to nats its been stations so i suggest u practice on the time constraint part
but they will test u on national level info so study on that, esp the neuromuscular junction...

Oh well, I come from Hawaii...
It's...not so competitive here. Also, the test was EXACTLY the same as the sample test. I'm not even joking....

But thanks for the information! It helped a lot...
...time to start cramming!
haha

thesilversound wrote:Hmm... well you have to remember that most people don't study too much other than what's on the rules. If it was hard for you, it was probably hard for others too. And sometimes, it's just the littlest mistake that can cost you. I'm sure you'll be able to medal next year though. From what you said, you did study a lot... I'm pretty sure you'll have no problem next time with placing:)

Thanks! I will be doing a lot of studying now and this summer, so I hope so! I'm sure I'll get the event next year because there's basically zero interest (besides me) on my team in regards to biology events like this one. But I am still crossing my fingers!

808girl wrote:For nationals...how detailed is it? I understand that you have to go beyond the scope of the study sheets but....in all seriousness, what is it like?

Last year, I found the nats test to be far easier than the state test. It covered basically what was on the rules page.